Stop Fox Hunting – Write to the Bern Grand Council
The canton of Bern is a licence hunting canton: between 2’000 and 3’500 foxes are shot here every year, most of which end up in the waste. On 3 December 2025, GLP cantonal councillor Casimir von Arx submitted motion 351-2025, calling for a scientifically accompanied field trial on abandoning fox hunting. The cantonal government rejected it on 6 May 2026, but in its reasoning itself admitted that hunting non-threatened species such as the fox is «in effect an end in itself» and need not fulfil any explicit regulatory mandate.
After the canton of Zug, with the SWILD study, created an independent scientific basis for the first time, the old motion was withdrawn and replaced with a more far-reaching one. On 8 September 2026, von Arx submitted the motion «From fox hunting to fox management» (Item 2026.GRPARL.559, Motion 237-2026). It no longer merely calls for a trial, but for the replacement of fox hunting with a scientifically based fox management system.
The motion is backed by six council members from across the political spectrum: von Arx (GLP), Mathias Müller (SVP), Dominique Bühler (Greens), Susanne Clauss (SP), Claudine Esseiva (FDP) and Manuel C. Widmer (Greens). This cross-party breadth shows that support for a fact-based fox policy extends far beyond traditional animal welfare circles.
You can do something, no matter which canton you live in. Get in touch directly with your cantonal parliament member or your National Councillor. It's legal, effective, and takes only a little time.
Important: Don't rely solely on email. We have received feedback from several cantons that messages about recreational hunting of the fox sometimes come back as undeliverable. Whether this is due to faulty addresses or a targeted filter cannot be determined from the outside. It is therefore better to use several channels: write a letter, make a phone call, or seek a personal conversation. You can also contact the parties and parliamentary groups directly — a message to a party or group secretariat is often more effective than one to individual council members. A phone call or a letter cannot be filtered out as easily as an email and often leaves a stronger impression.
What the new motion demands
Motion 237-2026 tasks the cantonal government with four points. First, the canton is to collect data on fox distribution and actual damage caused, and to publish this regularly. Second, fox hunting is to be replaced by scientifically grounded fox management based on this data. Third, this management is to aim for the most conflict-free coexistence of humans and foxes possible, as well as limiting animal suffering, prioritising non-lethal methods: waste management, scaring off instead of shooting, and targeted fencing to protect wildlife and livestock. Fourth, the cantonal government is to present the Grand Council with the necessary legal adjustments.
Important for context: fox management does not mean an absolute ban on killing. Sick, injured, or individual «problem foxes» can still be shot, particularly by the wildlife wardens. This is about moving away from blanket recreational hunting without objective purpose, not about doing nothing.
We have prepared a detailed background on the new motion here: Fox management instead of fox hunting: Bern motion calls for a replacement. The full text of the motion is available here: Motion «From fox hunting to fox management» (PDF)
Template letter — copy this text into your email program
Subject: Motion 237-2026 fox management, please vote yes
Dear Ms [Name] / Dear Mr [Name]
I am writing to you directly as a citizen because the Grand Council is deciding on Motion 237-2026 «From fox hunting to fox management» (2026.GRPARL.559) by Grand Council member Casimir von Arx (GLP). The motion demands that fox hunting in the canton of Bern be replaced with scientifically grounded fox management. It is backed by six council members from the GLP, SVP, Greens, SP and FDP.
In rejecting the predecessor motion on 6 May 2026, the cantonal government itself already admitted that hunting non-endangered species such as the fox was «in effect an end in itself». This is a remarkable admission and refutes the main argument that fox hunting serves an objective purpose.
The research is clear: the canton of Lucerne, the only canton that systematically records the health status of killed foxes, shows that of 2,217 killed animals, only 39 had a disease finding — over 98 percent were healthy. Compensation effects quickly offset kills (Baker & Harris 2006; Rushton et al. 2006; Kämmerle et al. 2019). When it comes to fox tapeworm, hunting is even counterproductive: a French study from the Nancy region (Comte et al. 2017) showed that intensive hunting increased prevalence from 44 to 55 percent. In Luxembourg, it fell from around 40 to below 10 percent after the 2015 hunting ban.
Rabies was not defeated by hunting but by vaccine bait programmes from 1978 onwards. Foxes are natural protective factors against tick-borne diseases: they regulate mice and rodents that serve as reservoirs for Lyme disease-transmitting ticks. The canton of Geneva has managed without recreational hunting since 1974, and thus in effect without fox hunting either: only state game wardens are permitted to intervene there, and in the past two years there has not been a single regulatory kill. The Swiss National Park has been hunting-free since 1914, with no population explosion and no increase in disease.
In 2025, the canton of Zug was the only canton to commission an independent study on fox hunting (SWILD, May 2026). The result: fox hunting regulates nothing, does not improve disease control, and non-lethal methods are superior. The Zug hunting commission has since stopped proactively promoting fox hunting.
The motion does not demand anything radical, but rather the logical consequence of this evidence. Sick or conspicuous individual animals could still be shot by the wildlife wardens. I ask you to support Motion 237-2026 and thereby open the way for an evidence-based fox policy in the canton of Bern.
Kind regards
[Your name]
[Your place of residence]
What was decided in the canton of Bern
Motion 351-2025, submitted on 3 December 2025 by GLP cantonal councillor Casimir von Arx, called for a time-limited, scientifically monitored field trial on abandoning fox hunting (Item 2025.GRPARL.1535). The cantonal government rejected it with resolution 446/2026 of 6 May 2026. Remarkably, it itself admitted that hunting non-threatened species such as the fox is «in fact an end in itself» and need not fulfil any explicit regulatory mandate. It did not address the question raised by the motion's sponsors as to whether fox hunting actually fulfils its alleged purposes at all.
After the canton of Zug provided a scientific basis with the SWILD study, von Arx withdrew Motion 351-2025, since the study had already answered its questions. It was replaced on 8 September 2026 by the more far-reaching Motion 237-2026 «From fox hunting to fox management» (Business 2026.GRPARL.559), co-sponsored by council members from the GLP, SVP, Greens, SP and FDP. It no longer calls for a trial but directly for the replacement of fox hunting with fox management.
Bern is a licence hunting canton: anyone who purchases a licence may hunt throughout the entire cantonal territory, without responsibility for a specific hunting ground. Between 2,000 and 3,500 foxes are killed every year, most of which end up in the rubbish. Deliberation on the new motion in the Grand Council is not expected before spring or summer 2027 at the earliest.
What Science Says
Population regulation: Compensation effects quickly offset kills. Even intensive hunting shows no lasting effect on the population (Baker et al. 2002; Kämmerle et al. 2019; Rushton et al. 2006).
Rabies: It was not hunting but vaccine bait programmes from 1978 onwards that defeated rabies. Lethal methods can worsen disease spread because hunted animals become more mobile.
Fox tapeworm: Intensive hunting increases prevalence (a French study from the Nancy region, Comte et al. 2017). Deworming baits, on the other hand, reduced the infection risk in the Starnberg district by 97 to 99 percent. In Luxembourg, prevalence fell from around 40 to below 10 percent after the 2015 hunting ban.
Lyme disease: Foxes regulate rodents that serve as tick reservoirs. In areas with higher predator activity, there are 10–20 percent fewer tick-carrying rodents (Hofmeester et al., Proc. Royal Soc. B). Switzerland is among the European hotspots for fox tapeworm.
Geneva / National Park: Geneva has managed without recreational hunting since 1974, and thus effectively without fox hunting too. Only state game wardens intervene there, and in the last two years not a single regulatory kill of a fox has taken place. Anyone praising Geneva is thereby speaking out against regular recreational hunting of the fox, not in favour of it. The Swiss National Park has been free of hunting since 1914. No population explosions, no worse disease situation.
Full overview of studies: Studies: The Impact of Recreational Hunting on Wild Animals
The Zug SWILD report
Zug is the only Swiss canton so far to have responded to Pascal Wolf's fox hunting petition with a genuine scientific study. In autumn 2025, the Directorate of the Interior commissioned SWILD, Urban Ecology, Wildlife Research, Communication, to prepare an expert report. The second version was published in May 2026 and presented to the hunting commission on 16 June 2026.
The result is unambiguous: the fox hunting currently practised cannot sustainably regulate populations, does not improve disease control, and is inferior to non-lethal methods for protecting livestock. Experience from Geneva (since 1974) and Luxembourg (since 2015) confirms that wildlife management works without recreational hunting of the red fox.
The full study is publicly accessible: Scientific Basis for Fox Hunting
Where to find the contact details
The Bernese Grand Council has 160 members. You can find the current composition, along with the profile pages of the individual members of the Grand Council, via the official member search at gr.be.ch, Members. Die offiziellen Ratsadressen haben die Form vorname.nachname@gr-gc.be.ch. Alternativ erreichst du die Mitglieder über ihre Fraktions- oder Parteisekretariate.
What has happened so far in the canton of Bern
📌 Fox management instead of fox hunting: Bern motion calls for a replacement
Six parliamentary groups are calling for a system change: away from recreational hunting of the fox, towards scientific fox management.
📌 Fox Hunting: Bern Government Refuses to Examine the Evidence
The cantonal government rejects the previous motion without examining the scientific evidence.
📌 Fox Hunting Panel Discussion in Utzenstorf: Four Recreational Hunters, One Non-Hunter and No Real Dialogue
How the debate is conducted locally when recreational hunters keep it among themselves.
📌 Obedience Test for Hunting Dogs During the Breeding and Rearing Season: Bern Hunters' Association Shoots Up the Forest
How the Bern Hunters' Association allows shooting in the forest precisely during the most sensitive time of year.
🧠 The Psychology of Recreational Hunting in the Canton of Bern
What drives the association and the government to stick to fox hunting even though politics has long since moved on.
📌 Recreational Hunters as False Wildlife Experts
How Pascal Wolf initiated petitions and motions in over 12 cantons — and what the authorities made of them.
📌 Killed by the million, for nothing: new study exposes hunters' folklore
Study in “Biological Conservation”: kills reduce neither populations nor damage.